I was thinking the other day about mini-goals and how it’s nice to have something short and sweet to aim for, something more attainable than a complete weight loss all at once. According to the goal I decided on, I still have about 4-5 kgs to lose (that would be the dreadful ‘last ten pounds’), even though I don’t know if it’s accurate or reasonable. Maybe my body will want to go lower than that, or refuse to budge. I don’t know.
However, while setting mini-goals of 5-10 lbs is nice when you have lots of weight to lose, it’s not so thrilling anymore in the end. I could celebrate the loss of each kilogram left, but somehow, this hasn’t got much appeal any more. So one of my mini-goals is to actually reach goal. And then I think I need to set some more.
As anyone who’s been following this blog recently can testify, I’m currently struggling. Stress, being busy, work, school, being tired of always worrying about calories and foods… I know what I need to do, and I know how to do it, but I’m more and more aware that even if this makes me appear as a ‘weak’ person, right now, I probably need a few more tools and staples to fight the good fight and not let the external world throw me back into my old, unhealthy habits. More mini-goals and mini-rewards will from now on be part of that.
I won’t set on food rewards, of course; that would be like an alcoholic going on two months sober and celebrating it in a bar. I also won’t set beauty rewards: I don’t agree with them, they make me feel like I don’t have the right to a new haircut if I’m still fat, and that’s not a positive message to me. So I will set other goals and other rewards from now on. Books, a CD, little trinkets–stuff I don’t really need, but would much like to have all the same. And my goals won’t necessarily be expressed in terms of pounds.
For instance, a goal I set on September 12 is to not drink a drop of coffee for one month. However, one thing I probably need more right now is to not let myself eat healthy for, say, 5 days, then allow myself 2-3 treats on the week-end. Therefore I’ve decided to try this little bet with myself: if I can keep a clean kind of eating (enough proteins, vegetables and complex carbs, fruits… instead of cake and pizza) for one week, I will buy myself a specific book. Yeah, it’s really a mini-mini-goal. It’s just that… I need it. I need something more, right now, currently, to fight off the stress. There’s no point in refusing to acknowledge it. Granted, maybe another method would work as well; I’ve just chosen to go with the mini-goals/mini-rewards way.
Sheesh, all that shiz really ain’t easy. I can only hope I’ll find my peace of mind someday when it comes to all of this…
September 24th, 2007 at 14:12
Hello!
well what I can say is that I totally agree with you, as you’ve seen on my blog.
For the moment it works with me. I’m a big concert addict so that’s the best reward I’ve found, as concerts are scheduled on specific dates, so that I have to lose weight first if I want to go and see my favourite bands. It’s quite rewarding.
Concerning the food, as a student, it’s hard for me to prepare vegetables or any other dish that needs time. As you know I’m working too, and I think that the first problem to solve is stress, before meals. That’s the next step on my slimness way.
I put your blog on my favourites
Bon courage à toi ^^
See ya!
Angelique
September 25th, 2007 at 20:23
Welcome here Angelique, and thank you very much for the link.
Concerts indeed sound like a pretty good reward. I should probably add a couple to my list, if I find some that I want to go to in town this year. I’m sure that with the carte Culture, this shouldn’t come off as too expensive (er, I hope!).
As a student as well, I admit that one of my current staples is canned green beans. I know, it’s not fresh and all, but it’s not the worst option I could find (though I’d take them frozen over canned if I could store them properly), and it makes up for easy and fast to heat vegetables, at least. It’s just so hard to muster enough energy to remain concerned about healthy foods when your day was filled with work and school and you’re overstressed… Bleh. Good luck with managing that, in any case.
September 25th, 2007 at 22:03
I’m all for mini-goals. I think it’s really the only way to go–I need to set my sights on the obtainable. Breaking things down into little increments and celebrating small successes is much more motivating to me than looking at a distant goal that never seems to get much closer!
September 27th, 2007 at 11:06
I’m really starting to think it’s also the only way to go for me, depending on the moments! When things are all okay, it’s easy, but when stressed and overbooked, it’s the contrary–too easy to pig out on crap grabbed on the way to school or work, less easy to prepare a healthy meal at home. Although I KNOW I need to healthy stuff, if only to be more performant in class!
And indeed, small increments are encouraging in their own ways, I think. Sure, a big goal and big reward sounds nice. On the other hand, what use is it for me to tell my self, say, “when I reach goal I’ll buy tons of clothes”? I already know I wouldn’t have enough money to do so, and it’d be discouraging. Small goals/rewards are more attainable in my case.